minuet

min·u·et | \ ˌmin-yə-ˈwet

How to pronounce minuet (audio)

\

Definition of minuet

1 : a slow graceful dance in ³/₄ time characterized by forward balancing, bowing, and toe pointing

2 : music for or in the rhythm of a minuet

Examples of minuet in a Sentence

The orchestra played a minuet.

Recent Examples on the Web The strings sang sweetly in the second movement, and the conductor underscored the dance motifs of the minuet. — Howard Reich, chicagotribune.com, "CSO review: Muti launches an epic Beethoven symphonies cycle before a packed Orchestra Hall," 27 Sep. 2019 Moments later, this prickly minuet gets reimagined; the interaction begins well enough before devolving again, ending with both women issuing a scream-queen cry worthy of this nightmare of miscommunication. — Lisa Kennedy, The Know, "Racism, white fragility and cluelessness: “Flame Broiled. or the ugly play” tackles it all," 2 Nov. 2019 However, the order of those movements doesn’t follow the classical model of fast sonata form followed by a slow movement, a dance movement (usually a minuet or scherzo), and a fast sonata or rondo finale. — Jessica Rudman, courant.com, "Review: Guest pianist Kevin Cole dazzles on a night of memorable melodies," 13 Oct. 2019 In a political minuet, the United States sold Turkey the F-35, the most modern of stealth jets, and the Turks obtained from Russia the S-400 antiaircraft system. — Nr Editors, National Review, "The Week," 25 July 2019 As part of the diplomatic minuet of arranging such sessions, the Chinese side wanted to be invited. — Lingling Wei, WSJ, "‘Bring Me Tariffs’—How Trump and Xi Drove Their Countries to the Brink of a Trade War," 28 Nov. 2018 Of course, none of this mushroom minuet would have mattered had the Carnaroli rice not been cooked to the ideal balance of al dente creaminess, even while soaking up a splash of potent truffle oil, lending the dish a woodsy earthiness. — Andrew Marton, star-telegram, "Dining experience at San Daniele in Grapevine can be described in one word: bellisimo | Fort Worth Star-Telegram," 25 Apr. 2018 The transition from the penultimate fugue to the final minuet, a series of floating chords, really did seem to be pointing beyond this world: whether toward heaven or apocalypse, Mr. Levit kept painfully ambiguous. — Zachary Woolfe, New York Times, "Review: Igor Levit, a Pianist for Polarizing Times," 12 Feb. 2017 George and Martha danced a minuet, captured in a drawing displayed on the cover of Harper’s Bazaar. — Alicia Ault, Smithsonian, "When Was the First Inaugural Ball?," 19 Jan. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'minuet.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about minuet

Dictionary Entries near minuet

Statistics for minuet

Cite this Entry

“Minuet.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/minuet. Accessed 20 Feb. 2020.

Keep scrolling for more

Keep scrolling for more

WORD OF THE DAY

judgment

See Definitions and Examples »

Test Your Vocabulary

More Confusing Words—Quiz

The magician ______ moved the selected card to the top of the deck.

discreetly discretely

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.